Explaining the Jazz’s protections on draft pick that was traded to OKC

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Lauri Markkanen’s 2022 performance with the Finnish national team was an eye-opener for many in the NBA, including Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy, who pushed Markkanen to expand his NBA game to mirror what he was doing in international competition.

Last summer, Markkanen was busy with his Finnish military requirements and it seems that this year the Jazz’s All-Star forward will have to stay sidelined rather than play with his national squad.

According to a release that was translated by eurohoops.net, Markannen expressed regret in not being able to join Finland’s squad for their summer schedule.

“Certainly, this is tough,” he said, “Representing Finland and playing for the national team is an honor for me. Along with my teammates, we have been talking all season about how sweet it would be to advance to the Olympic Games.”

The reason Markkanen is sidelined is due to the shoulder impingement that kept him out of action at the end of the Jazz’s 2023-24 regular season.

Though that might have some fans worried about the extent of the injury, team sources have indicated that Markkanen should be fine once the 2024-25 NBA training camp schedule rolls around. The Jazz have wanted to be cautious and careful with any and all injuries. As Markkanen is available to sign an extension this summer, there’s no doubt caution on both sides where injury is concerned.

Though he won’t be competing this year, Markkanen does not plan for his absence to extend beyond this summer. Finland is one of the hosts of the 2025 EuroBasket tournament and Markkanen plans on being a full participant next summer.

“Those dates are marked on my calendar,” he said.

New with the Jazz

How to pass the time in the offseason

Last year I said that I was going to learn to do something new and that thing was make pasta from scratch. Well, I didn’t do it.

I did learn how to refurbish and paint a coffee table, I did learn the mechanics of my water heater and I did learn how to take apart my washing machine in order to properly give it a good cleaning. But there has been exactly zero attempts to make pasta from scratch in this house.

I think that whenever we have extra time on our hands its not only useful, but it’s important to continue to expand our minds and what we’re able to do with our hands. And while I’m proud of the things that I learned last year, there’s always more to do and learn!

Readers, this is the offseason of fresh, homemade pasta. It’s going to happen.

From the archives

Extra points

• What, if anything, have we learned about Will Hardy through two tanking seasons? (Deseret News)
• Will Hardy losing assistant coach Chad Forcier to the Phoenix Suns (Deseret News)
• The Jazz are on the wrong side of one of the most-viewed NBA videos of all time (Deseret News)

Around the league

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